GB2520006A

GB2520006A - Size and length adjustable sleep suit for babies

Info

Publication number: GB2520006A
Application number: GB1319509.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Caroline Ruth Driver
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-11-05
Filing date: 2013-11-05
Publication date: 2015-05-13
Also published as: GB201319509D0

Abstract

A size and length adjustable sleep suit 1 has straps 3, 5, 6 attached to the lower arm and leg areas that are used to hold adjusted or gathered excess material, enabling the suit 1 to fit differing child sizes. Use of the straps 3, 5, 6 removes excess material that may overhang from a limb, the excess material 9, 10 is gathered and held in place by the straps. As well as enabling a single suit to fit differing sized children, the use of the straps also prevents the child from tripping on possible excess material. The use of the straps, which may use hook and loop fastening material, means that one suit may be adjusted to fit a child as it grows over a period of time.

Description

Intellectual Property Office Application No. GB1319509.4 RTN4 Date:29 January 2015 The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: Velcro Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.ipo.govuk

SIZE AND LENGTH ADJUSTABLE SLEEP SUIT FOR BABIES

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an improved sleep suit for babies which is able to be adjusted to fit more accurately: to differing baby body shapes and sizes. It is also able to extend the use of each suit and reduce the amount of sleep suits a parent is required to purchase due to child growth.

Background

Baby sleep suits are garments worn by babies or small infants that provide covering for the full leg and arms as well as the body to the neck area. Some may also include a hood to keep the head covered and warm.

These are produced in comfortable materials of varying types and may be coloured or patterned for aesthetic appreciation in an unlimited variation of ways. They are also produced in none flammable materials where legislation for safety during manufacture is enforced and this is monitored by trade authorities. Baby suits of this type or sleep suits are purchased from age ranges that begin with the baby in its very earliest stage.

Therefore, the sizes of these suits are available to suit each child an example would be 0- 3 years. A person with a child aged between 0-3 years, for example, would choose this option at the time of purchase and trust this sizing to be suitable for their own child. These sizes however, would not always provide an exacting fit to every child of this age, as individual children, although of the same age, can differ in size, weight and shape.

Therefore, when a child is fitted with a suit that is too large areas of the sleep suit may not remain in place or fit properly during usage.

The end of the arm sleeves or cuff areas may hang or extend beyond the hands or wrist of the child, because their own arms may be shorter than the length of the material provided in the arm of the sleep suit.

This may also be the case with the foot and ankle/leg areas of the sleep suit. If the child's legs are shorter or of different length to that of the leg provided in the sleep suit, the lower leg and foot area of the suit may extend or hang due to the excess material coming away from the foot inside, as the baby crawls or walks, moves.

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The child therefore has possible loose areas of the lower arm or lower leg of the garment that are too long and hang excessively as they wear it.

This results in a garment that is unsightly and not aesthetically appealing as a product and also provides dangerous areas of excess material over hanging, that could cause tripping of the child or other accidents during use.

The present invention provides a solution to this by enabling the parent or child career to adjust the sleep suit garment to a more exacting length that suits or matches the size of the baby or infant and the length of their arms, individually from child to child using one garment in most cases.

Prior Art

Accordingly patent applications have been filed to provide general solutions, including the following: French patent ref: DE 2644986 (MILLET) Discloses a baby sleep suit that has adjustable possibilities within its design that allow draw strings or cords within its leg and arm seem to be tightened to provide a slightly more precise fit or increased fitting.

United States patent ref: US 2010 0299802 (BAILEY) Discloses a method for head and neck protection of a child in a seat for a vehicle. This is attached to the seat to provide support around the neck and chin area, to include the upper chest, in theory. This may apply to the occasion were there may be an impact with the vehicle.

Russian patent ref: US 2147815 Discloses a child garment that is adjustable using areas around the arms and body that have draw strings within their arrangement that may be used to adjust the items fit.

United States patent ref: US 6317894 (BLECHMAN) Discloses a garment seemingly for an adult to wear that has robust cords inserted within the surface of the leg area that may be used to change the length for improved fitting and sizing when worn.

Unites States patent ref: US4773101 (KAPP) Discloses a method to adjust clothing using a drawstring method that gathers the article and by pulling sections together reduces the size of the garment to possibly improve fitting.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention there is provided a child sleep suit that has the known designs of suitably chosen material for its construction and has openings between the leg areas that are held together using press studs to allow access for the changing of nappies or diapers etc. To the arm and leg areas, moreover the area just above what we would call the wrist on the arm and the ankle on the leg areas, are straps.

These are able to be wrapped around the limb held within and attached in a tightened manner due to self-locating tabs such as Velcro (TRADEMARK) being provided. As the straps are tightened around the limb to a comfortable and safe degree, which is also aided by the use of a wide and soft strap, the garment is drawn to the diameter of the babies wrist or ankle area and thus the strap holds the garment caught between them, in place.

The straps may also be passed through a guiding hoop assigned on the garment near the strap to aid positioning and the tidy the end of the strap away.

The straps are of an exacting material to the garment in colour and type and have Velcro pads also that correspond with the pads on the garment, being in a strip or band.

The parent or carer would gather any excess material up or, for example, pull the sleeve of the arm until it is of a suitable length for the child and then use the strap with self-locating or holding Velcro pads to hold the area of adjusted garment in place.

Previously cited documents use a draw sting or an elastic variant to attempt to hold adjusted material but this would provide difficulties of use in this instance as the comfort of a small baby would be impaired due to the harsh feeling abound by the use of string or cord in a fine garment.

This would also produce a chocking or physical hazard for the child as the string could become removable in time due to the material perishing through usage or washing processes.

The present invention uses a safe and long lasting option that is also instantly applied and is of a simple derivative and offers an effective solution therein.

Brief description of figure

Figures 1 show the full garment with straps to arm and leg areas Figures 2 show closer views of the arm adjustment areas Figures 3 show closer views of the leg adjustment areas of both legs Figures 4 show how the leg strap is located within the clothing seam

Detailed description of figures

A size and length adjustable sleep suit for babies has a body 1 being of the known type the suit has a sleeve area 2 and a leg area 4, as shown in Figure 1. The sleeve area 2 may be adjusted in length and then held in place using a strap for the arm 3. Helping to maintain the new length of the sleeve area 2, for the occupant. A retained area 9, as shown may also be apparent on adjustment of the sleeve area 2. This is a moved or gathered amount of material that may have been created by pulling up or adjusting the sleeve material and then affixed or held in place via the strap for the arm 3.

This would align the sleeve end or cuff 8 to the correct length for the occupants arm length, which varies. The leg area 4 may be adjusted in the same or similar way by adjusting material length comparatively against that of the occupants own leg length and pulling or gathering, adjusting the retained area of material 10 and holding with the strap for the leg 5, as shown. This is reflected on the adjacent leg and the strap 6 holds the material more tightly to the ankle area of the occupant and place the foot area 7 at a more exacting fit to their own foot.

To the sleeve area 2A, as shown in Figure 2 0 the strap for the arm 3A is located, as shown thereon. A correspondingly positioned receiving length 11 is located to the surface of the arm area 2A, near the cuff BA, so that when the strap for the arm 3A is wrapped or folded around the arm and onto the surface of the receiving length 11, they meet mutually as shown in Figure 2 E, as 3A. This strap to the arm 3A may be passed within a loop of material 12, moreover of the same material of that of the garment. This loop 12 is stitched to the material as are all located third party apparel herein. Thus the retained area 9A is held in its new position on the limb by the retaining strap 3A.

Both the strap for the ami 3A and the receiving length 11 have self-locating pads 13 which are of the known Velcro (TRADEMARK) type having a male hook and female textured area into which the male hooked area are located on contact of any kind and holds together, until forcibly released by the user.

Figure 3 shows the leg area 4B and the retained or adjusted material area 1DB being held by the strap for the leg 5B and passed through the loop 12B to tidy away the end or the body of the strap of 5B. The foot area of the garment 14 is shown here in its retracting stages (broken lines) at 14, until they are pulled to a length that suits the occupant's leg length and foot sizing. Thus adjustment has been made from the single baby sleep suit to the size of the occupant therein.

The Strap for the leg SC, as shown in Figure 4 has Velcro (TRADEMARK) self-locating pads 13 and which wrap around onto the receiving length of Velcro (TRADEMARK) 15 to the adjacent area of the leg area 4C, as shown and is inserted and sewn into the opening 17 of the leg seam 16.

Claims

Claims I -A size and length adjustable sleep suit for babies wherein straps are located near the wrist and ankle of the garment.
2. A size and length adjustable sleep suit for babies wherein straps can hold the lower arm and ankle areas of a garment in place once adjusted to length of a baby's limbs.
3. A size and length adjustable sleep suit for babies as claimed in claim 2 wherein straps that hold a garment in place also hold gathered material in place which has been adjusted to make an oversized garment fit a smaller baby.
4. A size and length adjustable sleep suit for babies as claimed in claim 3 wherein straps are able to stay in place once adjustment is completed due to self-locating Velcro (TRADEMARK) pads assigned and affixed to corresponding areas of the garment to the position of each strap.
5. A size and length adjustable sleep suit for babies as claimed wherein a single sleep suit is used for differing sized children and as they grow may adjust further.
6. A size and length adjustable sleep suit for babies wherein the risk of tripping over excess material is reduced.
7. A size and length adjustable sleep suit for babies as claimed in all previous claims is a sleep suit that has straps to the lower arm and leg areas that are used to hold adjusted or gathered excess material to make the suit fit differing child sizes removing excess material that may overhang from a limb.